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why so many High end amps for sale???

#21
Agree on TB users. If all you ever did was read a few posts each day you would know more about bass instruments and equipment than probably 90% of the bass players in this country within a few years. I personally have learned more about electronics (ohms, resistance, etc) on TB in about 3 or 4 years than I ever learned from being in ham radio for about 20 years. There be some smart dudes lurking about here.
 
#23
Maybe the "high end" stuff isnt that great if people are always trying to get rid of it.

My personal theory is that no better amp has been made since the D-180 or Bass 400/400+ or even the SVT-CL. People keep buying all this new "high end" stuff but it doesnt compare to their 400/400+'s so they sell it.
 
#24
chaosMK said:
Maybe the "high end" stuff isnt that great if people are always trying to get rid of it.

My personal theory is that no better amp has been made since the D-180 or Bass 400/400+ or even the SVT-CL. People keep buying all this new "high end" stuff but it doesnt compare to their 400/400+'s so they sell it.
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I loved my 400+ and D-180, but I'd be surprised if one in 50 TBers selling amps in the classifieds owned one!
 
#28
chaosMK said:
Maybe the "high end" stuff isnt that great if people are always trying to get rid of it.
Click to expand...
That's a rather silly theory. TalkBass has over 200,000 members. There are 400-odd members of the "official" MarkBass club, with similar followings for other non-household-name brands. The number of these amps on sale at any given point in time is small enough where one can calculate that it's something less that 1% of owners who are trying to sell their gear at any point in time. It's just that, if you *do* want to sell a non-garden-variety amp, TB is the place to come, at least in the US.
My personal theory is that no better amp has been made since the D-180 or Bass 400/400+ or even the SVT-CL. People keep buying all this new "high end" stuff but it doesnt compare to their 400/400+'s so they sell it.
Click to expand...
With all due respect, you are wrong. It may well be that, to your ears, nothing has been made that's better than an D-180 - I can't dispute your personal tastes. But if you actually read people's posts, the ones who are selling the new stuff to get back to legacy gear are a very small minority.
 
#29
chaosMK said:
Maybe the "high end" stuff isnt that great if people are always trying to get rid of it.

My personal theory is that no better amp has been made since the D-180 or Bass 400/400+ or even the SVT-CL. People keep buying all this new "high end" stuff but it doesnt compare to their 400/400+'s so they sell it.
Click to expand...

???

I'm GLAD the amps I've played since don't 'compare' to my Mesa 400+. After the first two weeks of owning it, once the 'new' wore off, I never ever got it to sound like anything I loved.

If that was the 'benchmark' of great bass tone, I'd be playing banjo now.
 
#30
chaosMK said:
Maybe the "high end" stuff isnt that great if people are always trying to get rid of it.

My personal theory is that no better amp has been made since the D-180 or Bass 400/400+ or even the SVT-CL. People keep buying all this new "high end" stuff but it doesnt compare to their 400/400+'s so they sell it.
Click to expand...

Please bestow upon me your mystical tone settings. I struggle.
 
#31
You guys are getting way off track in regards to my comment. The OP asked a specific question, I responded with my best theory. I am sorry if u guys don't own or have yet to try the superior kinds of amps I suggested, which have withstood the test of time and will probably continue to.

catgut said:
Please bestow upon me your mystical tone settings. I struggle.
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I appreciate your question, although it's clearly off topic and cynical in nature. I will answer your question with a secondary theory which continues to address the actual topic of this thread:

mystical tone settings. I struggle.
Click to expand...
It is because of this type of mentality that people struggle and find that they have to sell their high end gear. They think it is about mystique hidden in a name plate or tone settings, when in actuality the key to using high end gear is understanding the controls.
 
#33
chaosMK said:
You guys are getting way off track in regards to my comment. The OP asked a specific question, I responded with my best theory. I am sorry if u guys don't own or have yet to try the superior kinds of amps I suggested, which have withstood the test of time and will probably continue to.


I appreciate your question, although it's clearly off topic and cynical in nature. I will answer your question with a secondary theory which continues to address the actual topic of this thread:


It is because of this type of mentality that people struggle and find that they have to sell their high end gear. They think it is about mystique hidden in a name plate or tone settings, when in actuality the key to using high end gear is understanding the controls.
Click to expand...

I'll raise you 1. A GREAT player will make any bass player in the audience ask about the amp he is using that night. This result will be repeated every time this player plays...regardless of what amp he is playing on any given night.
 
#35
I think there is a lot of flavours of great sounding relatively affordable gear, sometimes it takes a few goes to get what you are after, some are on an eternal tone quest, and some people like to change their sound regularly basis or stay current. There are lots of reasons good gear gets turned over here...
 
#36
hsech said:
I'm 65 and can afford high end stuff, but LIGHT WEIGHT Markbass and GK do it for me. The older you get and the more worn out you get the more you appreciate the light weight stuff.
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^^This.

I suspect some people are selling their heavier gear and getting lightweight micros to do the same (or a similar) job. They're getting pretty good. Good enough for most gig situations.

You just can't beat the tone of a great tube and heavy iron amp, though, IMHO. That said, I do have GAS for a GK MB Fusion 800....
 
#38
When you are a GAS driven gearhead, you have an account on talkbass.

And when you are a GAS driven gearhead you have limited storage space and some kind of restriction on yourself of how many amps you should own.

So if GAS commands to buy something, something else has to go.
That starts with the old junk, but soon enough you find you find yourself sitting on a heap of high class amps and will have to pick one of those to sell. As mentioned before, a Markbass or Tonehammer is easily stuffed into a small parcel and shipped without the fear of damaging the thing. So you quit band A that called for that Orange sound you bought the Terrorbass for and you joined a combo that does not? Well here's the chance to buy that Amp you were GASing for and sell the Orange on TB.
 
#40
BurningSkies said:
If that was the 'benchmark' of great bass tone, I'd be playing banjo now.
Click to expand...
;) Gibson Mastertone RB800 player since 1970...

Q: Define a gentleman
A: A man who can play banjo, but does not.

Q: Define perfect pitch
A: Getting the banjo into the dumpster without hitting the sides

We have two tunes where I need banjo, but found setup is a lot faster just using my keyboard and NanoSynth.

Back on track, I gave in to GAS and picked up a used 700RB-II from a TB member.
This is the first 'head' I've owned in a very long time, since I normally use all preamps and power amps.
Just plain ol' GAS
 

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